<em>The Atlantic Daily: </em>The GOP Goes Down a Dangerous Road

+ The party is headed down a dangerous road. “In elections going forward, not trying to steal the election will be seen as RINO behavior,” one strategist told Ronald Brownstein.

Further reading: How should Biden investigate Trump’s misdeeds once in office? James Fallows, a longtime correspondent for the magazine, has some thoughts in our latest issue.

One question, answered: How do you talk to a loved one who refuses to wear a mask?

Hosts James Hamblin and Katherine Wells discussed this on the latest episode of our Social Distance podcast. Here’s a snippet of their conversation:

Katherine Wells: In fairness, I was extremely confused about masks for the first couple of months because the guidance from official sources was in fact incorrect, so it’s not unreasonable for there to be confusion about masks. …

James Hamblin: Just in case anyone’s unclear: Masks are effective. They’re not perfectly effective. There are always going to be stories where someone was wearing a mask and got [the coronavirus] nonetheless. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t effective. All these things are tools in a tool kit.

When someone comes to you, you can kind of break it down: Is this a genuine concern? Are they really afraid of wearing a mask? In which case, that deserves to be taken seriously. Or are they using this information to justify their belief that they just don’t want to wear a mask?

Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts.

What to read if … you’re looking for practical advice:

Tonight’s Atlantic-approved isolation activity:

Hulu’s Happiest Season, a rom-com about queer joy, is the holiday movie of the year, Shirley Li writes. Shirley spoke with the director, Clea DuVall, about what led her to make this film, 20 years after her big break as an actor.

Today’s break from the news:

How did TikTok make Charli D’Amelio, a 16-year-old from suburban Connecticut, one of the most recognizable teens in America?

Thanks for reading. This email was written by Caroline Mimbs Nyce.

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Caroline Mimbs Nyce is a senior associate editor at The Atlantic.